Opening of the Holy Door of Mercy in the Prelatic Church of Our Lady of Peace (December 13, 2015)

In his Bull Misericordiae Vultus, Pope Francis expresses his desire that many people will rediscover divine mercy during the Jubilee Year. Among other suggestions, he encouraged many basilicas and churches to open a door of mercy “through which anyone who enters can experience the love of God who consoles, who forgives, and who offers hope.”

The door of mercy in the prelatic church of Our Lady of Peace, the church that contains the remains of St. Josemaría and of Blessed Alvaro, was opened on December 13. Anyone who comes to this church can thus obtain the plenary indulgence offered for the Jubilee of Mercy, if the requirements foreseen by the Bull are fulfilled. This indulgence affects the temporal punishment for one’s own sins and is applicable in suffrage for the souls of the faithful departed.

In accord with the habitual practice for receiving an indulgence, and following the dispositions prescribed with respect to the door of mercy in the various churches and shrines during the Jubilee Year, the indulgence can be obtained by the faithful who: a) visit in pilgrimage the prelatic church of Our Lady of Peace and there, after passing through the holy door or the door of mercy, take part in a sacred celebration or at least remain for a certain time in prayer, with a reflection on mercy; b) recite the profession of faith and some prayer for the Pope and for his intentions, especially the Our Father. It is advised that the prayer be closed with an invocation to the Merciful Lord Jesus (for example, “Merciful Jesus, I trust in you”); c) fulfill the other general dispositions foreseen by the Church: sacramental confession and Eucharistic communion, in addition to rejecting any attachment to sin, including venial sin.